1) An American indie roc… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name:
1) An American indie rock and hip hop band
2) A British folk-pop band
1) A trio of Cincinnati-born men who fiddle with skins, strings, bells and microphones and present their findings to the listening public. Singer Yoni Wolf grew up the second son to an art book editor and a rabbi. He got his start recording bad poems and sloppy beats on the family synagogue’s 4-track. In junior high he discovered hip-hop. At art school, he learned how to drop out. Yoni’s brother Josiah played drums at Rabbi Wolf’s worship service as a kid, became a band geek as a teen, and fell in love with Thelonious Monk on his way to study music at University of Cincinnati. Doug McDiarmid would eventually get expelled from that same school for carrying a stun gun, but first he was raised by two French teachers and taught piano while in kindergarten. He also went to high school with the Wolfs, where he played in Steve Miller cover bands.
In various permutations together and with other now-notables (i.e. Doseone, Odd Nosdam, Mr. Dibbs, Atmosphere’s Slug), these three created and/or contributed to several freewheeling rap and lo-fi rock-related projects including Greenthink, Miss Ohio’s Nameless, Reaching Quiet, and the seminal cLOUDDEAD outfit. Their wildest dreams were achieved when they relocated to Oakland to make pop-inflected psychedelic folk-hop.
For four years, two EPs and 2003’s cult classic LP, Oaklandazulasylum, WHY? comprised Yoni Wolf alone. He honed his trademark delivery – a sickly sweet, half-rapped, singsong style – shined up his wry, picturesque poetry, and developed a clip-and-collage aesthetic using keyboards, toys, guitars, samplers and anything worth banging on. When Doug and Josiah moved west to join Yoni, they brought with them a hoard of instruments and the ability to wail on every last one. By chops and imagination, WHY? grew into a thing of flesh, bones and fully fledged songs, resulting in 2005’s Elephant Eyelash album. Critics swooned; ladies lauded; WHY? neither resisted nor rested. They toured – with Silver Jews, Yo La Tengo, and Islands. They collaborated – with Danielson Family, Department Of Eagles, and Subtle (Yoni also recorded with Fog’s Andrew Broder as “Hymie’s Basement”). They put out yet more music.
The brand new album Eskimo Snow is something of a companion piece to last year’s celebrated Alopecia LP. In February of 2007, the WHY? trio temporarily relocated to Minneapolis and officially inducted Fog players Andrew Broder and Mark Erickson. Recording live as a five-piece, WHY? created two distinct albums from those sessions: Alopecia, with its taut rhythms and biting wit, and Eskimo Snow, a shadowy and sprawling set that finds Yoni resigned to and ever-awed by those infinite erring bits of existence that make WHY? what it is.
2) Also an English folk-pop band active during the 90s. They released nine albums between '91 & '99, including the curiously-titled Pinnenstripeensuitenwearenfoddergeburnenclippenclopen.
Fall Saddles
Why? Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Epistle to Rachel
Stamped and dated,
Now I know you were really alive
In nineteen seventy one.
(fall saddles)
You carried God
Like a bouquet of balloons,
Your next move...
"Go on, get on that train."
In your clay faced youth
The rubber upper lip
Sounds out
A bold pen sketch.
Were you talking about
Your dad when you said,
"Your fisted language still affects my style.
Although I sometimes catch your
Visions like a child."
Do you still pray about me
In your quiet time,
Cast out soft-core demons
When I come back home,
Let some Nashville fake
Record your demo tapes?
When I'm waiting at a train
Station or a bus stop.
I also play "led by the lord day"
In my own way.
In Why?'s song Fall Saddles, the lyrics describe a reflective and nostalgic tone as the storyteller listens to a taped letter from the past. The lyrics take the audience on a journey back to the year of 1971, when the recipient of the letter, Rachel, was still alive. The use of the phrase "Fall Saddles" could mean the saddles of horses, which fall when mounting and dismounting, representing memories and emotions that resurface when revisiting events from the past.
The verse, "You carried God/Like a bouquet of balloons/Yoshua whispered in your ear/Your next move..." suggests that Rachel was a religious person who sought guidance from God. The reference to Yoshua may mean Joshua in the Bible, who was a leader, just like Rachel. He told her what to do, and she carried those instructions like a bouquet of balloons, which may symbolize faith and hope.
The song includes a reference to the artist's father, who had an impact on his or her art style. The line, "Your fisted language still affects my style. Although I sometimes catch your visions like a child," implies that the artist's father was rigid and strict, but they still absorbed some of their lessons and vision, emulating them into their own artistry.
Overall, Fall Saddles is a whimsical and poignant song that subtly delves into themes of religion, family, and memories.
Line by Line Meaning
I listened to your taped Epistle to Rachel
I heard the recording you made for Rachel and kept it as evidence.
Stamped and dated,
It had clear proof of when it was recorded on it.
Now I know you were really alive In nineteen seventy one.
I understand now that you were alive and present in 1971.
You carried God Like a bouquet of balloons,
You held onto your faith with a lightness and joyfulness that felt like a balloon bouquet.
Yoshua whispered in your ear Your next move... 'Go on, get on that train.'
You had an inner voice guiding you, and it led you to take a train.
In your clay faced youth The rubber upper lip/
When you were young and inexperienced, you had the strength to face challenges.
Sounds out A bold pen sketch.
Your words were powerful and artistic when you spoke of your experiences.
Were you talking about Your dad when you said, 'Your fisted language still affects my style. Although I sometimes catch your Visions like a child.'
Your dad's communication style was an influence on you, and occasionally his visions spoke to you too.
Do you still pray about me In your quiet time,
Do you pray for me when you have time alone?
Cast out soft-core demons When I come back home,
Help me deal with my personal struggles when I visit you.
Let some Nashville fake Record your demo tapes?
Would you be okay with a recording studio compromising your sound?
When I'm waiting at a train Station or a bus stop.
I think of you when I'm waiting for transportation.
I also play 'led by the lord day' In my own way.
In my own way, I also have faith in a higher power guiding me.
Lyrics © TERRORBIRD PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind